Jonathan Cape / Vintage, 2024
ISBN 978-1529922936
Reviewed by Piers Warren
The concept of this novel appears quite simple. It follows one day in the life of six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Nothing dramatic happens – there are no emergencies or aliens – yet the result is a beautiful and poetic (short) book which won the 2024 Booker Prize.
I didn’t know much about the book or author before I read it but the incredible detail of life aboard the ISS soon raised lots of questions in my mind: was it fiction or non-fiction? Were the people real or made up? Had the (English) author been on the ISS herself and if not how did she know so much about it and what the people on board were thinking?
The fact that it is fiction, the characters are not real and that the author has never been on the ISS makes the accomplishment even more incredible. It is all thoroughly believable. Apparently she had help with some detail from NASA and ESA and while writing it was watching a live feed of views of the Earth from the ISS. I can well imagine this as she writes a lot about what parts of the Earth the characters can see as they orbit it sixteen times in the one day. That might sound a bit dull and repetitive but she writes in such a lyrical way and intersperses this with the thoughts of the characters that it is truly brought alive.
Along the way the detail of life aboard the ISS is intriguingly detailed (eating, sleeping, moving, working etc) which really makes you feel part of the adventure, especially when combined with all their thoughts as they are so far from home. They often think of family on Earth and what they miss as well as what led them to want to be astronauts or cosmonauts.
Above all what really comes across well is how beautiful the Earth looks, how rare and precious, and how they see no borders or lines separating countries which makes the idea of wars just absurd. I’m so glad I read this book and highly recommend it.